Penelope Wilton

One of the most respected English stage actresses of the late 20th century and beyond, Penelope Wilton also enjoyed a lengthy career as a film and television actress with appearances in "Cry Freedom"...
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Nicole Scherzinger scores Olivier Award nod for stage debut

By:
WENN.com
Mar 09, 2015

Pop star Nicole Scherzinger is celebrating after scoring a coveted Olivier Award nomination for her West End debut in Cats. The former Pussycat Dolls singer is up for the Best Supporting Actress in a Musical prize for her portrayal of Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber's revived stage show, competing against former James Bond star Samantha Bond for her role in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Others in the category include Haydn Gwynne (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and Lorna Want (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical).
Another former Bond star, Gemma Arterton, is included in this year's (15) top theatre awards with a nod for her leading turn in the stage version of Made in Dagenham.
Arterton will compete for the Best Actress in Musical category against Episodes star Tamsin Greig, who is nominated for her role the West End version of Pedro Almodovar's comedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, as well as Katie Brayben (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical) and British singer Beverley Knight (Memphis the Musical).
Memphis emerged as the lead as the nominations were announced in London by James McAvoy and Lesley Manville on Monday (09Mar15), scoring nine nods in categories including Best New Musical and Best Actor for Killian Donnelly. It was closely followed by Beautiful - The Carole King Musical with eight.
In the drama categories, Mark Strong is up for Best Actor for his lead role in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge and he will go up against James McAvoy (The Ruling Class), Richard Armitage (The Crucible) and Tim Pigott-Smith (King Charles III), while the Best Actress nominees include Gillian Anderson (A Streetcar Named Desire), Kristin Scott Thomas (Electra), Imelda Staunton (Good People) and Penelope Wilton (Taken at Midnight).
Other notable nominees include Dame Angela Lansbury for her supporting role in Blithe Spirit, while British musicians David Byrne and Fatboy Slim are up for an achievement in music award for writing musical Here Lies Love. They will compete against The Kinks' Ray Davies for Sunny Afternoon among others.
A View from the Bridge, The Crucible, My Night with Reg, Skylight and A Streetcar Named Desire are up for the Best Revival prize while King Charles III, The Nether, Taken at Midnight and Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies are nominated for Best New Play.
The winners will be announced at London's Royal Opera House on 12 April (15).

Dame Judi Dench has to take an assistant everywhere she goes because her failing eyesight makes it impossible to travel alone. The veteran actress struggles to see where she is stepping and she relied on help from her co-stars Dame Maggie Smith, Celia Imrie, and Bill Nighy when she returned to India to film comedy sequel The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel last year (14).
She tells Radio Times magazine, "These days I can't really travel on my own because I need someone to say, 'Look out, there's a step here!' or else I fall all over the place like a mad, drunk lady. That's why it was just glorious going back to India again. We're all great friends and we've done masses of things together. It was like an old travelling theatre company coming back together - old being the operative word!"
Dench has previously revealed she is battling macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness, and she can no longer read scripts.

Veteran British actress Celia Imrie has relocated to Los Angeles in a bid to fulfil her dream of acting in a Hollywood film before she gets too old. The Bridget Jones's Diary star, 62, has enjoyed a long career in British film, TV and theatre but has always wanted to land a role in a big budget American movie.
She has spent several months in L.A. looking to land an agent, and she is hoping to score a part off the back of her latest film project, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Imrie, who launches her debut novel this month (Feb15), tells Britain's You magazine, "I'm 62 and frankly I'm not happy about it... The truth of the matter is, and without wishing to sound morbid, I have about 20 years left on this earth and I have lots that I want to do... I want to write more books and make a late entry into Hollywood...
"I wish I had done it years ago... But I'm hoping that the buzz surrounding Marigold can create the possibility of a late entry into Hollywood, although the movie could never have been made there as nobody has wrinkles."
In the movie, a follow-up to 2012's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Imrie stars alongside a number of other veteran actresses including Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton.

Hit TV show Downton Abbey is to end later this year (15) after six series, according to a new report.
The period drama, which was first broadcast in 2010, will reportedly draw to a close so creator/writer Julian Fellowes can work on a new project, and the stars of the show, including Michelle Dockery and Hugh Bonneville, have been seen holding meetings for future work. A source tells Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, "It's an open secret that Downton is ending this year. Some of the actors are keen to let it be known they will be available for work after the summer. Some are interested in the U.S., where Downton is as popular as it is in the U.K. "Joanne Froggatt, Edith (Laura) Carmichael and Allen Leech were in Los Angeles for the awards last week and there were several meetings about both TV and film roles."

PBS
It's getting a little bizarre how much Downton Abbey has in common with the Real Housewives franchise: a bunch of rich people making well-placed barbs and fighting over trivial things. The only thing missing is the confessionals, and the fact that the actors of Downton are so amazing they can sell the intensity.
Upstairs
Everyone is excited about Lord Grantham’s birthday. They are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lady Mary Craweley’s oft-rejected suitor Evelyn Napier, his employer Mr. Charles Blake, and some pigs. Mr. Blake arrives and instantly butts heads with Lady Mary. He is studying the lavish estates and questioning if they are even meant for a modern UK.
Lady Rose MacClare organizes a surprise for her uncle’s birthday. She recruits Steve Urkel Jack Ross (Gary Carr), the nasal jazz singer. It’s always strange when British television shows cast English actors to play Americans. They spend more time trying to sound like accountants.
Gird your loins, Isobel Crawley and the Dowager Countess are back to fighting. Watching Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton go at it is the best part of this show. This verbal joust was over the fate of Peg, the gardener. Isobel reboots Murder She Wrote and goes snooping through Violet’s drawing room. Boom! She finds the missing knife. She shows up with Dr. Clarkson to shame the Dowager into giving Peg his job back. She has a rehired Peg come in and completely embarrass Isobel. Check and mate.
Tom Branson bonds with Isobel about their dead loved ones. He goes on to make a valid point. He won’t be able to find another member of the aristocracy willing to slum it with him. Plus, everyone would take issue with him bringing some ratchet girl from town to the house.
Lady Edith is still waiting for word from her married lover and gets a bombshell…she’s pregnant with the bastard son of her married lover. Equally shocking, Lady Mary catches Lady Rose and Steve Urkel ... um, Mr. Ross engaged in a little chocolate vanilla swirl. The look on Mary’s face is priceless.
Downstairs
Alfred ends up getting the apprenticeship at The Ritz. It sends everyone into a rural fervor. Daisy is emotional because Alfred is leaving. Mr. Molesley stops by to try and get the footman job but Carson is still dying to make him suffer for his hubris. Mr. Molesley suffers until Mrs. Hughes has him serve the servants and Carson stops him right there and rehires him.
Jimmy takes Ivy to a movie and then decides he’s earned the right to sexually harass her. Luckily, she escapes unscathed but their relationship is over. Suddenly, she’s a little more keen on Alfred which sends Daisy into a tantrum.
Bates and Anna go to a hotel to try and escape the terror of Anna’s attack. Their host is rude and dismissive until Cora Crawley gets them a table. But she does overhear their bickering. But she did miss him talking about wanting to murder. Mrs. Baxter is in the room when Cora tells Mary what she heard. Barrow puts the lean on Mrs. Baxter for the details. But it looks like Baxter has some fight in her.
The Reading Room ­- Best Barbs of the Episode
"I have a feeling most things would fit into this particular pocket." -The Dowager Countess about thieving Peg
"I wonder you don’t just set fire to the Abbey and dance around it… painted in woe and howling." -The Dowager’s recommendation for Isobel’s weekend.
Isobel: "How you hate to be wrong."Dowager Countess: "I wouldn’t know…I’m not familiar with the sensation."
"What a very disturbing thought." -Carson at the idea of Mrs. Patmore with a man
"I don’t expect Mr. Blake to be witty." -Lady Mary to Mr. Bates
"Some people run on greed, lust, even love she runs on indignation." -Dowager Countess about Isobel
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PBS
This episode is channeling Season 1 but bringing way more drama. It’s great to see the return of the snarky, passive-aggressive Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) we love to hate. She’s back to becoming stone faced and staring into space, viciously insulting her sister, and getting the best suitors. She’s not the only one back to their Season 1 personas. Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier) is back to scheming and has enlisted some help. Plus, the moment you have been waiting for ... the peace between the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) and Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton) is over. Full shade ahead!
Upstairs
Evelyn Napier (Brendan Patricks) stops by the Abbey. If you’ve forgotten him, he is the suitor that introduced Mary to Mr. Pamuk (Theo James). Mr. Pamuk was the guy that de-virginized her and died in her bed. Napier is working on a survey of how the war has affected Aristocratic manors. Speaking of manors, Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) is dealing with the death of one of the estate’s farmers. Mr. Drewe (Andrew Scarborough), the farmer’s son, has inherited a significant amount of debt. Lord Grantham kindly pays the debt in exchange for Mr. Drewe working it off. The Lord is back to keeping secrets from fellow estate runners, Mary and Tom Branson (Allen Leech). Branson is threatening to move to the U.S. to escape the stuffy life of an aristocrat and spare his daughter any embarrassment.
Edith Crawley (Laura Carmichael) is lurking by the metaphorical mailbox waiting to hear back from Michael Gregson (Charles Edwards). It doesn’t look promising for him since he just moved to a pre-Nazi Germany. Drunk Liza Minnelli Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern) adjusts to her new lady’s maid and tries to convince Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) that they need to buy a refrigerator.
Isobel takes an interest in a young neighborhood boy, Peg. She convinces the Dowager Countess to hire him. However, when an antique letter-opener goes missing, the Golden Girls clash over the boy’s guilt. It’s witty barbs and loud sighs. Here’s hoping they have a fight in a fountain like on Dynasty.
Downstairs
Alfred (Matt Milne) seems adept at cooking. He’s selected to apply for the apprenticeship at The Ritz. Everyone in the kitchen is excited but he’s nervous. Meanwhile, with the prospect of Alfred leaving, Carson (Jim Carter) offers the footman position to Mr. Molesley (Kevin Doyle). Despite willing to take any odd job in the village, do with that what you will, Molesley’s pride is hurt at the prospect of being demoted to footman. Alfred ends up not winning the internship so Molesley ends up red-faced when he returns for the job. Looks like Molesley is one step closer to suicide.
The disturbing Anna Rape storyline continues to get more depressing. Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) has been super icy to Bates (Brendan Coyle). Bates overhears Anna talking to Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and he devises a plan to find out what happened. He threatens to leave unless Mrs. Hughes comes clean. Thinking on her feet, she invents an assailant that raped Anna during the concert. However, Bates is convinced it’s Mr. Green (Nigel Harman). This is where things get dark. To this point, Anna has not known his name was even Mr. Green. Also, Bates is getting very scary and murdery. His violent inclinations and Anna’s fear make it seem like he could be abusive. Here’s hoping the writers don’t go in that direction.
Style &amp; Sass: Best Lines of the Night
Not the first time you have had the wrong end of the stick. –Mary to Edith
I wonder how your halo doesn’t grow heavy. It must be like wearing a tiara ‘round the clock. –The Dowager Countess to Isobel Round I
Mrs. Patmore, is there any aspect of the present day that you can accept without resistence? –Cora
Well M’lady I wouldn’t mind getting rid of my corset. –Mrs. Patmore’s response
What would you prefer that I invite the local criminals to drop in strip the house bare? –The Dowager Countess to Isobel Round II
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Carnival Films
Downton is abuzz with an impending party .. but when are they not having one?
Upstairs
Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) is surprised by the appearance of the newly named Lord Gillingham (Tom Cullen). They begin to bond and Mary begins to resemble her former self. Is it too much to hope for the slight-delivering, passive aggressive Lady Mary from Series 1? Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) invites Michael Gregson (Charles Edwards) in the hopes that he will win the respect of her parents. Good luck, Lady Edith ... you’re the 1920’s answer to the Cathy comics. Ack! Terence Sampson (Patrick Kennedy) arrives on the scene and convinces everyone to play cards including Earl Grantham (Hugh Bonneville). Luckily, Mr. Gregson wins back all the money and exposes the dirty dealings of Sampson.
Meanwhile, everyone seems to be really inconsiderate of poor Tom (Allen Leech). A guest asks him about Lady Sybil. Isobel (Penelope Wilton) arrives to the party despite mourning. Then in true shady fashion she complains about her sadness to Tom despite the fact that he’s a widower. Sure, she lost a child but is it anyone’s place to give someone survivor’s guilt? Tom confesses that he doesn’t feel like he belongs with the family. Scheming Miss Braithwaite (MyAnna Buring) brings him a huge glass of whiskey and then shows up at his room late in the night.
The drama: Lady Rose MacClare (Lily James) surprises everyone, including Lady Mary, by bringing down Matthew’s old phonograph. Lord Grantham has Australian opera singer Nellie Melba (Kiri Te Kanawa) dine in her room until Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern) corrects his error. Also, what the hell is going to happen if anyone founds out that Tom slummed it with Braithwaite?
Downstairs
Carson (Jim Carter) is his usually stern self as everyone is working double duty in entertaining mode. Lord Gillingham’s valet (Nigel Harman), known only as Mr. Gillingham, arrives on the scene and befriends Anna (Joanne Froggatt) much to Mr. Bates’ dismay (Brendan Coyle). Trying to impress Ivy (Cara Theobold) Jimmy (Ed Speleers) falls and hurts his hand. A broke Mr. Molesley (Kevin Doyle), has been complaining all over town how broke he is and taking odd jobs. And yet, when asked to be a footman in place of Jimmy, he complains a lot.
Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) has a panic attack. Alfred (Matt Milne) makes the sauce and discovers a love for cooking. Anna has a headache so she excuses herself during the opera performance. In a disturbing turn of events, Anna gets violently raped by Mr. Gillingham. Too scared to tell her husband, she enlists Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) for help in covering it up. This is a huge departure from Downton's normal drama. Is having lovable and sweet Anna attacked too far or is it the right level of drama for the show? After all, times are changing as we approach the 1920s.
The drama: Anna can’t tell Mr. Bates because she’s worried he will go nuts and kill her attacker. Clearly, he’s a little unhinged. If memory serves he didn’t even kill his wife despite being arrested for her murder.
Best Lines
What does one say to a singer? - Lord Grantham
Screaming in the servant’s hall, singers chatting to his lordship and a footman cooking the dinner what a topsy-turvy world we’ve come to. - Carson
I’m afraid Tom’s small talk is very small. - Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith)
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Brits David Strathairn and Tamsin Greig are to join Richard Gere in the sequel to 2011 hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The trio will join Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie and Penelope Wilton, who are all returning for the film.

A number of big names from the London arts scene, including Downton Abbey star Penelope Wilton, have joined forces in a bid to save one of the city's theatres from redevelopment. Theatre mogul Sir Richard Eyre, composer George Fenton, playwright Stephen Poliakoff, actresses Francesca Annis and Dame Harriet Walter, and artist Sir Peter Blake have joined Wilton by signing an open letter opposing plans to demolish Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.
Developers want to build a massive modern complex on the site featuring apartment blocks, offices, and TV and film studios, as well as a theatre, but the plans are facing opposition from residents and famous fans of the complex.
The letter, published in Britain's The Times newspaper, reads, "Riverside Studios was set up on public land with public funding as a multidisciplinary arts centre for the benefit of local people and Londoners... We believe there has been insufficient consultation for such an important site... and on this rare riverside location, in a development in which arts facilities look likely to play a secondary role to privately-run TV studios... We urge (the local council) to allow an extension of the consultation period to enable a more informed and constructive discussion about the future of this important arts centre."

Carnival Film and Television/PBS
Even though the fourth season of Downton Abbey has yet to make landfall on American shores, the hit British soap has already been renewed for a fifth season. The fourth season of the show, which just wrapped up accross the pond, scored huge numbers with British audiences, and is expected to remain a big hit in the states when the season makes its American debut on January 5.
Downton's fifth season will begin production next year with Julian Fellowes contunuing to serve as writer. In a statement, executive producer Gareth Neame said, "Audiences have enjoyed their regular Sunday evening visits back to Downton once again this autumn and we are thrilled to produce a new series of the show next year. We promise all the usual highs and lows, romance, drama and comedy played out by some of the most iconic characters on television. All the actors and makers of the show continue to be humbled by the extraordinary audience response and want to take the show from strength to strength next year."
The upcoming fifth season of Downton Abbey will likely make it's American premiere sometime in early 2015.
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Title

Summary

One of the most respected English stage actresses of the late 20th century and beyond, Penelope Wilton also enjoyed a lengthy career as a film and television actress with appearances in "Cry Freedom" (1987), "Calendar Girls" (2003) and most notably, the hugely popular "Downton Abbey" (ITV/PBS, 2010- ) TV series. Frequently hailed for her versatility, which allowed her to move successfully between classical and modern drama, as well as for what critics often described as her "quintessential Englishness" - which translated into finely calibrated performances that allowed her to express layers of emotion through dialogue alone - Wilton came to be regarded as an "actress's actress," a performer who could deliver a memorable turn, no matter the material or author. The stage dominated her career for several decades before she began appearing in British TV and features, as well as the occasional international feature like "Shaun of the Dead" (2004) and "Match Point" (2005). But it was her turn as the steely, staunchly middle-class Isobel Crawley on "Downton" that brought Wilton international acclaim as the series drew in audiences around the globe in devoted numbers. "Downton" fans soon discovered what English theatergoers had known since the early 1970s - that Penelope Wilton represented the best that her country could offer as a performer.